St. John’s could face Alabama without Dylan Darling
St. John’s could be without the lone true point guard on its roster Saturday against No. 15 Alabama.
Junior Dylan Darling is dealing with a strained calf and only returned to practice Friday after missing the previous few days. He has been wearing a protective boot.
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The Idaho State transfer suffered the injury in the season-opening rout of Quinnipiac on Monday. Darling isn’t a starter, but he is a key piece for the Johnnies.
In his first game for Rick Pitino’s team, he had a team-high six assists.
He thinks he suffered the injury when he tripped over a cheerleader’s foot and fell into one of the officials.
“I’m hoping to [play],” Darling said. “I’m going to practice today, see how it feels and go from there. … I’m going to try to tough it out with a lot of tape.”
Pitino characterized Darling as “50/50.”
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If Darling can’t go, it could mean more playing time for sophomore Lefteris Liotopoulos or freshman Casper Pohto. But it also depends on foul trouble. St. John’s could opt to use Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon and Oziyah Sellers for heavier minutes.
The son of former NFL linebacker James Darling, the St. John’s point guard has toughness in his bloodlines. Darling may lean into that grit.
“Pops is still in town for this one, so I’m trying to tough it out,” Darling said. “I want to play, I really want to play.”
The good news is St. John’s has a week off after this game, giving Darling time to recover.
Alabama is expected to be without sophomore forward Keitenn Bristow (ankle). Coach Nate Oats said Friday that Bristow was doubtful. The Tarleton State transfer also missed the season opener.
But guards Aden Holloway (wrist) and Latrell Wrightsell (finger) practiced and seem likely to be available.
Holloway and Wrightsell averaged in double figures last season.
Alabama will be the first of three SEC teams St. John’s will face during its challenging non-conference schedule, including taking on No. 9 Kentucky in Atlanta on Dec. 20 and hosting Ole Miss on Dec. 6.
“I wanted to see more length and athleticism and the SEC has the most in the country,” Pitino said. “Three of the coaches are very good friends of mine. Nate wanted to play in the Garden, so did [Ole Miss coach Chris Beard], who’s a very close friend. Obviously, [Kentucky coach] Mark Pope, they’re not coming to the Garden, but we’re playing them.”
“We wanted to play a big-time schedule. More important to me is to see what we need to work on to improve. Sometimes it’s fool’s gold. You go out and you’re 9-1, you’re blowing teams out, and you really don’t know your strengths and weaknesses until you face great competition. We’re going to know going into the Big East where our weaknesses lie, what we need to improve on, and what our strengths are.”
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